Once Alone, Always a Puppet
by ChinaDollMaiden
Summary: After Sasuke leaves the village, Sakura meets a red haired stranger in the forest. He offers to make her stronger, but at a price. To join his organization once training is complete. Will she remain loyal to her village, or train for the sake of strength?


**Ok, so DarkLillyOfTheNight96 sent me a message, challenging me to write a story. She gave me three titles, summaries unknown, and I chose. She then gave me the summary, and I. LOVED IT.  
**

**It's a SasoSaku, so you SasoSaku haters, GTFO. But it's not a romantic story...YET. I'm not sure if we're gonna make it one. We might...we might not. GET IT!? NON ROMANCE.  
**

**And she wanted me to get started, so I am.**

**And I have a question for you guys...is it possible to have writer's block on only ONE of your many, many stories? Cuz if it is, I have it on ASOB. (Sense of Abandonment) It's terrible, I know.  
**

**I am officially through with 1/4 of the school year!! WOOOOOT. That means I'm that much closer to having more time to work on stories!!! SQUEEEEE!!!  
**

**I'm excited. And guess what I was for Halloween? Okay, stop guessing. I was be a garden gnome!!! *thumbs up* It was amazing, I got a HAUL of candy!!! Only I got a bunch of Milky Ways, which I hate.  
**

**Oh, and soon, I'm going to work on a one-shot entirely in spanish. I want to improve on my spanish grade, it was my lowest, being a C+. I'll then write the english version for you guys.  
**

**Okay, enough with my life, on with the story!!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Sasori, Sakura, or any other Naruto characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto (MasaKishi.)**

* * *

Tears streamed down a lone kunoichi's trembling face. She stood, her eyes focused on a stone bench. The boy who months ago benumbed her and lay her on this bench...she couldn't get him out of her head.

He filled her dreams, his onyx stare burning into her memories. Those memories...

All of him. Them. What they used to be. A team, no...a _family_. One by one, beginning with him...that family dispersed. It faded from his mind, existing only in her and their friend's wishful thinking.

She had promised him she would save him from the darkness. She would take his hand and show him the light. But everytime she reached for him, he slapped her hand away. He was too prideful to accept her help.

Before he left, he had told her: "Thank you."

If he was so thankful...why did he leave? Why did he make her like this?

Footsteps echoing from behind her intruded her thoughts. She slowly turned her head, sea foam green meeting powder blue.

"Sakura, Naruto's back."

Sakura swiftly turned to her blonde friend, hope gleaming in her eyes.

"Well? Did they...did he bring him back?"

Ino looked at her reluctantly. She merely shook her head.

"No." she whispered. "And Naruto's been badly injured, an-"

Before Ino could finish her sentence, Sakura bolted away, running to the hospital at high speed.

Her rose tresses whipped out behind her head, and away from her teary eyes, which were reddened from rubbing with her hands.

When she was half way there, she tripped on a jutted out stone, skidding to a halt on the ground. She winced, clutching her shin that was now covered in a light film of vermillion and dirt. She felt more tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, but she shook her head. If she was in this tiny bit of pain, Naruto must be in worse pain. She must continue!

Staggering to her feet, she began to half run, half limp to her destination.

Just a few more steps...she was almost there!

She threw her weight against the double wooden doors, walking up to the counter. The nurse sitting down in her chair was rifling through papers, and she looked up with a warm smile.

"May I help you, miss?"

Sakura tried to catch her breath, but it felt like something was stuck in her throat. More tears bubbled over.

"N-naruto...Uzu...m-maki."

The woman's dark hair covered her eyes from Sakura's view, as she began to look for his records.

"Uzumaki, Uzumaki...ah, here we are. Room 213."

Sakura nodded her thanks and set off to find his room.

She was a few doors away, and shaking violently. What if Naruto wasn't okay? What if he was angry with her, for making him make such a promise? For not carrying out that promise herself?

The wind blew in from a nearby open window, stirring her hair. With it, it brought the soothing scents and sounds of the forest. The gentle rustle of the leaves, shrill peeping of birds. It gave her comfort. Confidence.

And there she was, standing in front of the door of Room 213. Her shivering was gone. She was reaching for the handle, when a hand gripped her shoulder firmly. She turned around to see the culprit was none other than the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade. Her long blonde hair was in two low pigtails, and her hazel eyes looked at Sakura accusingly.

"What are you doing, walking in there? He's not ready for visitors!" she bellowed. Sakura flinched, feeling the tears well up again.

"I...I just-" she broke off, glancing to her right side, doing her best to avoid her glare. Tsunade felt sudden regret.

"Look, I'm sorry, he's just not awake yet." she said, placing a comforting hand on the younger girl's back. Sakura looked up. "If you like, you can wait here until his healing sessions are complete. Once he's thoroughly healed, you can go in, awake or not."

Sakura's face brightened considerably, and she nodded furiously. Tsunade smiled, and entered Naruto's hospital room. Just as Tsunade was closing the door, Sakura caught the smallest glimpse of her bed-ridden friend. His spiked blonde hair was wildly spiked, and his skin looked severely burnt. Blood was caked on, long dry. She drew in a shocked gasp, and thankfully, Tsunade noticed nothing.

Sakura scurried over to the chair nearby, almost hyperventilating. He must be in so much pain!

Another hand rested itself on her shoulder, the second today. She looked up to see Kakashi, in all his masked glory, nose buried in his perverted book.

"K-kakashi-sensei!" she said, feeling more tears well up. The tell tale signs of a grin appeared on his face. The closed eye, the slight lift of his mask, and the single thumbs-up. He used these tiny things to reassure her that Naruto would come out of this hospital alive. And she believed him.

~*~

It seemed like hours had passed. It seemed like _days_. Those long seconds ticked by, agonizing. Kakashi continued to read, and Sakura continued to wring her hands. Over time, others began to show up.

Hinata was the first, aside from themselves. She began to fiddle with her forefingers, like she always did, then took a place between Kakashi and Sakura. Lee was second, anime tears streaming down his face, rambling on about Naruto's mass amount of youth, with Gai close behind. Neji followed, giving a look that clearly said, 'I don't know these two.' Then was Kiba and Shino, both saying not a single word. Ino came after them, sitting beside Sakura and giving her a shoulder to lean on. The list went on, with Naruto's many friends.

The door creaked open, and the many eyes settled on the tall slab of wood. A slim woman with short, straight ebony hair and piercing coal eyes stepped out, holding a clipboard delicately with both hands. She was almost always seen by Tsunade's side, holding a small pig. She looked up from the paper, and almost did a double take at the number of visitors.

"E-eh...Uzumaki-san isn't quite ready for any visitors." she explained, to their disappointment. "He's awake, and his healing is progressing wonderfully, but he asked me to be alone for the time being."

Most of them nodded in understanding. Naruto was most likely shaken about his encounter with Sasuke, his friend, _best_ friend.

They just hoped he would break from this sadness.

~*~

Sakura was thrown into a depression. She shut herself in her room, rarely coming out even for meals, not uttering a single word. Her mother was beginning to worry. The last time she saw her daughter was two days ago. Sakura hadn't moved from her room since.

Many tried to get her to come out of hiding. But no answer came from within the room. But what they didn't know was that she wasn't there. She was off, wandering to collect her thoughts. She would return in a few hours, as she always did.

She leapt among the trees, leaves snagging her hair, but she ignored them. She just needed some air. She hoped she wasn't worrying anyone, or she would feel guilty. She felt more bulbs of water accumulating in the corners of her eyes, but she blinked them away the best she could. They clung to her lush eyelashes, making it hard to see in front of her, and she ended up smacking into a branch by the stomach. She groaned as she plummeted to the forest floor, qipao dress fluttering. She landed with a sickening thud.

She whimpered, sitting up and cluthing her stomach with one hand, her head with the other. She whimpered and her fingers pressed unpleasantly onto the large bruise forming. She had cut her lip on a branch as well, and blood flowed from the split. She licked at it to keep it from dribbling down her chin, and she walked.

She walked for a long while, fingers intertwined behind her back. She kept walking until she cleared the trees, and before her stood the lush scenery of the Land of Fire.

She silently stood, a letting the warm rays of the sun reflect off her porcelain white skin. She closed her eyes in bliss, opening them again to take in the sights. It was late summer, almost autumn, and the trees were already changing to magnificent crimsons, dazzling saffrons, musky tawnies and brilliant coppers. She loved to watch the seasons go by, it all seemed so fast, though it was longer than she could ever imagine.

Sparrows chirped merrily, hurrying to adjust their nests according to weather. Their wings beat rapidly, and they flew off in a large 'V' formation.

The wind stirred around her, bringing a shiver up her spine and made the hairs on her neck stand on end. It was going to be a cold winter, that's for sure. The winters in the Land of Fire were never very cold, usually only cold enough for a heavy jacket. Sakura was almost sure it would snow this year, which brought a pang of happiness to her.

Sakura watched the sun setting into the horizon, setting the evening sky ablaze with colors not unlike those of the trees. It spread like flames.

As the last glimpse of the sun disappeared below the horizon, the sky turned a midnight blue. It reflected her emotions. One by one, the stars twinkled into sight. The moon was a perfect circle in the night sky, and a chilling gust of air brought goosebumps to her skin. She cursed herself for forgetting to bring a jacket, and began to head back home, when something caught her ear.

She heard faint songs of metal against metal, and what sounded like an alabaster bamboo fountain. The soft, echoing 'clunk' of wood sounded through the trees, pulsing in her ears. Her feet slowly began taking her in the direction she heard them. Soon, she broke into a run, gracefully dodging branches and stones.

Left, right, left, right...would she ever reach it?

She skidded to a halt, as the sounds lost their echoing presence. She whipped her head to and fro, looking for the source, until she _finally_ found it.

There, in the clearing, was a man.

He was tall, with fair, flawless skin. His hair, thick and wiry, was a bright shade of garnet. He wore traditional black shinobi boots, a majority of which were covered by white stirrups. The cloak he wore, what's collar went to his chin, was decorated by red clouds.

But what struck her, was his eyes. His hazel eyes appeared lazy and indifferent, almost blank, staring off into the almost seemed as if he were looking at _her_. She had no doubt in her mind that he knew she was there. He just chose not to acknowledge the fact. Then, he lifted his hand, eyes still toward her. She could see his fingernails, painted teal. Slowly, he flicked his wrist.

Sakura felt a sharp tug on her arms, and before she could look down, she was soaring through the air, out of the trees, and she landed face first on the ground. She groaned, lifting her head from the dirt, and she saw lifeless cinnamon eyes, inches from her own. She flinched, but he held her chin with his thumb and forefinger.

That's when Sakura knew she was surely going to die.

She shut her eyes tightly, waiting for him to strike the final blow. He still held her chin in his grasp. She lay there, helpless before him, but she didn't let out even a single whimper. She felt the hold on her chin disappear, and when she opened her eyes...

He was gone.

~*~

Sakura woke up in her own room, under her own blanket, head rested on her own pillow, and in her own pajamas. Her most comfortable ones, too. However, that wasn't her problem. Her problem was, she had absolutely no memory of returning home the night before.

She didn't even _want_ to know. She sat up, stretching her arms, which slightly lifted her red pajama top, showing a glimpse of her belly. She stood up, stretching her legs, and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

"Mornin', mom!" Sakura said, as cheerful as can be. Her mother, nearly dropped the plate she was washing.

"S-Sakura! You're out of your room! And _talking_!" the middle-aged woman with starlight silver hair was overjoyed to see her daughter up and out of her room. Sakura scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

"Was I that depressed?" she asked. When her mother nodded her head, Sakura began apologizing up and down. Her mother dismissed it, telling her she had her reasons for shutting herself in her room. She then served Sakura steamed rice, miso soup, and grilled fish, and it was more delicious than she thought it would be. She scarfed it down, having not eaten in four days.

She got up, thanked her mother for the amazing meal, and for the first time since Sasuke left the village, left her house with eyes clear of tears.

~*~

A certain redhead trudged through the fallen foliage, thinking of his encounter with a certain pink haired kunoichi.

He did not know who she was, nor did he want to know, nor did he _care_. When he used his chakra strings to pull her out of the trees, he wasn't thinking clearly, that much was obvious. And when he held her head up to face him, she did something that astounded him. His other captives had screamed and begged for mercy, which was not given. But she...she didn't make a sound as her warm eyes met his cold ones.

By did he let her go? Was it because he respected her, for showing no fear in his presence? Or was it because he felt pity for the girl's tear streaked face? Whatever the reason was, it was a stupid decision. For all he knew, she could be blabbing about him to her Hokage right about now, and he would have the ANBU on his tail in an instant.

He sincerely hoped she wouldn't. After all, he showed her mercy. She should be thankful she's even alive. He could almost read her thoughts from the expression on her face, fear and regret clouding her eyes. Her fearless approach intrigued him.

"Sasori no Danna!"

He looked to the skies, and sure enough, his hyperactive partner was standing, his blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail with the rest flying behind him. The fringe of hair that covered his left eye was moved by the wind, revealing a dark metal mechanism. The large bird he rode on stopped a few feet from Sasori, and the man slowed it's flight to match his partner's footsteps.

"Deidara." Sasori's silky voice greeted Deidara as politely as he could, but felt his irritation rising at Deidara's cocky smirk.

"So Danna, where have you been, hm?" Deidara said, trying to make small talk.

Sasori didn't answer, which came as no surprise to the blonde.

"Danna, where did you-"

"That's none of your business, brat."

Deidara pondered for a moment, then realized they _were_ in the Land of Fire.

"You were near Konoha, weren't you, hm?"

Sasori shot him a venomous glare, a clear warning to drop the subject. But did he pay attention?

Of course not.

"Danna, why were you so close to such a largely inhabited village?"

"Training."

"That's dangerous, yeah." Deidara scolded sarcastically. "You could have been caught. And why train so close?"

Sasori was lost in thought, and hadn't heard a word his annoying partner had said.

Truth be told, he was actually hoping to find an apprentice to train and bring to the Akatsuki. More specifically, a medic. The Organization lacked a professional medic. The closest they had was Leader's partner Konan, and all she knew was first aid. Leader had actually _sent_ him on this mission to look for a medic, but Sasori stopped along the way to hone his skills.

Perhaps that girl would make a sufficient apprentice...no, she was most definitely not a medic. He sensed she had the proper chakra control, but perhaps she had never put her mind to becoming a medic nin. Still, she seemed quite strong.

"Deidara."

Deidara barely opened one eye to look at his partner, but a grunt came from the back of his throat, meaning he was listening.

"Leader has sent me on a separate mission." Sasori continued.

"What's the objective, hm?"

"To find a medic for the Organization."

Deidara nodded, glad they would finally have someone to heal the more fatal wounds.

"The reason I was so close to Konoha was because I heard rumors that the legendary Sannin, Tsunade, had become Hokage only recently." He waited for Deidara to question relevance, but none came. "Tsunade is supposedly one of the best Medic-nins in all the Great Nations."

"But Danna, she would never betray her village, yeah. What makes you think she'll join the Akatsuki?" he argued. "And I heard she has a mean right hook, so I doubt we could take her by force, un."

Sasori smirked.

"Precisely."

Deidara's bird stopped in mid-air, and he had the most confused look on his face that Sasori had seen in many years. True, it made no sense to some. But it made sense to him. Sasori kept walking, and it wasn't until he was several yards ahead that the blonde's mind returned, and the clay bird flapped it's wings to catch up.

"Wait, Danna! What do you mean, hm!?"

~*~

Sakura sat on the bench she was left on two weeks ago. The fact that this was the bench were _he_ left her no longer bothered her, for her mind was filled with thoughts of that mysterious red haired man.

His physical appearance reminded her of Gaara, somewhat. Red hair, emotionless eyes, pale skin...maybe he was from Suna? No, men from Suna didn't wear such cloaks...did they? Maybe he was somehow related to Gaara. She doubted it, but it could be.

When he held her chin and looked in her eyes, she felt such overwhelming power emanating from them, it made her dizzy, almost like vertigo. And another thing she noticed was, his hands smelt of wood and blood. An odd combination, she admitted, but for some odd reason, it smelled good. Like the air during winter.

She had finally gone to visit Naruto in the hospital. He looked so disappointed and sorry when she walked in the room, she almost left. To see such a face on the usually cheerful, optimistic boy looked so wrong, and whats worse, she caused it. He apologized up and down, begging forgiveness, which she gave easily. It pained her to see her closest friend lowered to such a state.

When he asked her if she hated him, she nearly shouted that she could never. Tears were brought to her eyes, and Naruto, being an idiot, freaked out, began to wave his arms in the air, and upset his wounds, starting up the bleeding. It bled through the bandages and hospital gown he wore, and through the blanket that partially covered his chest. Sakura had screamed for the nurse frantically before being pushed aside by the Hokage, and the delicate hands were enveloped in a soothing green bubble of chakra.

After that, Naruto passed out.

That small incident made her think. She felt useless, powerless at that moment in time, when her best friend could be bleeding away.

Maybe that man knew something about medical jutsu?

Yes, she would go to where he was the night before. And maybe, just _maybe_, he would be there again.

It was almost midnight, and Sakura had been given special permission to exit the village, but was restricted to within twenty miles, and she was ordered to return after four hours.

She was having trouble finding the wide clearing where she saw him. It was a dense forest, within which many clearings were. It could be _any_ clearing. But she thought to herself, look for signs of activity, and you may find it.

Sure enough, after searching from treetop to trunk, clearing to pathway, she heard the familiar echo of wood on wood. She whipped her head to and fro, and saw a large, wide-spread clearing, in the middle stood a man. His short, unkempt red hair was ruffled by the whipping wind, covering one eye.

It was him.

~*~

Sasori knew she was here. She was too easy to find, with her mediocre skill. And what's more, her blush hair stood out like a black bug on white paper. He felt her chakra signature, and waited for a glimpse of pink.

There!

He gently lifted his hand, this time with no strings, and beckoned her to him. Slowly and cautiously, the girl stepped out from the thickets, but rather clumsily. She had twigs and leaves stuck in her hair, and the long trail of her qipao dress was caught on a burr. He smirked at her amateur appearance.

"Come closer. I'm not going to hurt you."

He couldn't tell if it was a lie or not, but for now, he would leave her be. She could prove useful, if his plan turned out the way he wanted it to. Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously, before placing a tentative foot forward.

He growled slightly, unheard by the girl, as he hated to wait. He closed his eyes in annoyance, and attached a few strings to her legs. She squealed in surprise as she felt the unfamiliar chakra taking control of her. He nimbly moved his fingers, and her legs walked her body until she was standing no less than two feet away from him.

She looked a bit scared, but relaxed when he detached his strings, and did nothing to harm her, as he'd said.

"Tell me, girl," he said, voice smooth as silk, "what's your name?"

Sakura was really in a tight bind now, wasn't she? She didn't know if she could trust him, but she sensed no hostility. Then again, she thought she could trust _him_, and she was wrong.

"S-Sakura."

Sasori smirked. Everything was going according to plan.

"What a pretty name, it suits you well." he said, gently tugging on a short rosy lock.

Sakura shut her eyes tight, afraid to open them. She felt a great burst of wind, and when she opened her eyes...

He was gone.

* * *

**Well, that's it! I'm finally done!**

**And I'm sorry if I update really slow, cuz my laptop is broken. The wires in the power button are all disconnected, and the screen is cracked.**

**So the only way I can work on stories is on school computers. It sucks.**

**And give some props to DarkLillyOfTheNight96, because she came up with the idea, plot line, and whatnot!!!**

**LOVE YOU, GIRL!!**

**Till next time!**

**~China**


End file.
